News Release

KC Shooting Suspect: A Long History of ‘Bigotry’

April 15, 2014

Reuters reports: “A man suspected of killing three people when he opened fire at two Kansas City-area Jewish centers on Sunday afternoon has been formally identified and is expected to face federal hate crimes charges as well as state charges, authorities said on Monday.”

LEONARD ZESKIND, DEVIN BURGHART, dburghart at irehr.org
Zeskind is the president of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights and author of Blood and Politics: The History of White Nationalism from the Margins to the Mainstream. In a statement, he said, “Many of those on IREHR’s boards, including myself, have had past dealings with Frazier Glenn Miller and the effect of this alleged shooter’s racism, anti-Semitism and anti-gay bigotry. Whatever name Mr. Miller goes by today, we remember him from the heavily armed para-military organization he created in North Carolina. We remember the bravery of those from the now-defunct North Carolinians Against Racist and Religious Violence organization who faced Miller down in the 1980s. And we praise the good common sense of the voters in southwest Missouri who did not vote for him when he ran for office in the recent past, and we condemn those who did vote for this raving bigot.”

Burghart is the vice president of IREHR and co-author of Guns & Gavels: Common Law Courts, Militias & White Supremacy. He said today, “The shooting in Overland Park is a tragic reminder that violent racism and anti-Semitism have yet to die, and will live long after Glenn Miller is gone. Those ideas, and the white nationalist groups that keep them alive, must be closely monitored by organizations like the IREHR and others. We must work together to actively oppose them and to build lasting barriers against bigotry. In doing so, we must always strive to promote a truly democratic, multi-racial, inter-faith society for the common good of all.”